Careers

I have worked with marketing departments as internal and external clients.

I'm considering getting an MBA or EMBA and transitioning to Director of Marketing position.

With an MBA, what is the likelihood of achieving this without marketing management experience? I need to assess opportunity cost vs. return on investment (career and financial gain).

Answer
I’m going to answer the last part of your question concerning the cost/benefit of getting an MBA first by directing you to a handy “Business School Calculator” that Forbes posted a while back .

Once you’ve done the math, taking into account the cost of getting the degree, the potential for lost income during your studies, and how long it will take to break even post-graduation, it may turn out that an MBA just isn’t worth the time or the money.

Since you already have a number of marketing contacts, and, I’m assuming, people and project management experience, it may be more effective, and certainly less expensive, to investigate the possibility of moving into a marketing role by leveraging your current experience and the network you’ve developed within the marketing community.

Looking at some concrete marketing opportunities will help you identify gaps between your existing capabilities and the demands of the job. If it turns out that you do need some additional schooling, in statistics or finance, for example, you can always take a class or two and get up to speed without going into the hole.

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